<DIV><DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Throughout his life, Edward Lear maintained the same love for painting that caused him to be compared to Audubon at age nineteen&#8212;and later saw him give brief drawing lessons to Queen Victoria. <I>Nonsense Botany and Nonsense Alphabets</I> contains numerous examples of the illustrations and pictorial descriptions from Edward Lear&#8217;s incredibly imaginative reserve of plants and creatures, each with appropriate captions and lyrics. His strange botanical illustrations include the likes of Manypeeplia Upsidownia, Piggiwiggia Pyramidalis, and Pollybirdia Singularis, while the <I>Nonsense Alphabet</I> consists of three sets of illustrated alphabets that twist and turn around bizarrely addictive imagery and language:</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I>A was an ape,</I></P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I>Who stole some white tape,</I></P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I>And tied up his toes,</I></P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I>In four beautiful bows.</I></P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I>a!</I></P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I>Funny old Ape!</I></P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I></I>&nbsp;</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Regardless of Lear&#8217;s inspiration or impetus, these writings and their accompanying images remain adored by children and adults alike, and the more than 150 illustrations presented here testify to Lear&#8217;s enduring popularity as a heroically comic poet and serious artist.</P></DIV></DIV>